Microsoft España president María Garaña told Antena 3 that they are in fact one of the candidates for the lucrative deal.

Forbes speculates, using Premier League sponsorship deals in the recent past, that the naming rights to Real Madrid’s home since 1947 could cost Microsoft upwards of $10 million a year.

Bill Gates is splashing the cash in sports advertising recently, already owning the front of the Seattle Sounders kit along with an MLS partnership and a $400 million deal with the NFL signed earlier this year.

Spanish media outlet El Confidential reported in late October that Gates himself is involved in the negotiations with Real Madrid, and that the talks will progress slowly seeing as team president Fiorentino Perez does not want to make a decision until the middle of next year.

El Confidential also reports that the naming rights would not take effect until the summer of 2016 when the renovations to the Bernabeu are scheduled to be completed.

$10M US seems a little low. AT&T pause $17M/year for naming rights to the cowboys stadium and Real Madrid has a far greater global TV presence which I thick should translate to even bigger naming rights value.